


Gender is a Social Construct

by cosmic_dumbass1



Series: Wakko Warner's Struggles of Finding Themself [1]
Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Animaniacs - Freeform, Coming Out, Coming of Age, Dot is Supportive, Finding Pronouns, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Happy Ending, Nonbinary, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Wakko, Self-Esteem Issues, Siblings, Supportive Siblings, Wakko is the Best, Yakko is Supportive, Yakko is just trying his best, slight self-hatred, they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27918064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_dumbass1/pseuds/cosmic_dumbass1
Summary: Wakko doesn't know who he is anymore.
Relationships: Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner
Series: Wakko Warner's Struggles of Finding Themself [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047949
Comments: 10
Kudos: 191





	Gender is a Social Construct

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i love nonbinary wakko warner with all my heart and i wanted to write a nice little fic about it. this is my first animaniacs fic so the characters might be a little off. happy reading!

Wakko couldn't figure it out.

He had always been labelled the dumb sibling, no brains and no smart, but this- this was important to him and it really bothered him that he couldn't get it figured out.

He sighed to himself before hopping out of bed, carefully crawling down the bunk before quietly crossing the room. He didn't want to wake Dot or Yakko up at this hour and have them questioning or bothering him. He quietly headed to the bathroom, closing the door behind him before taking a big breath in. He exhaled as he hopped onto the step stool they had for him and Dot. He balanced on top of it and then glanced up, finding his reflection in the mirror staring right back at him.

He sighed.

He looked too much like a boy. That was all he could figure out about this whole thing. He looked too much like a boy and that made him uncomfortable. But, he didn't want to be a girl like Dot. He was stuck. He had no clue what it meant or what that made him, he was too dumb to figure it out on his own. Going to his siblings for help was the only thing he could think of, but he was terrified of what they would think of him. They'd think he's weird for not wanting to be a boy. They'd think he's weird for not knowing who he is. Wakko was stuck in an infinite loop of not knowing anything about himself anymore.

He glanced back down, away from the mirror, grabbing the end of his sweatshirt. He hated that he was too dumb to come up with an idea of who he wanted to be. He'd always hated how stupid he was, nothing compared to Yakko, who was smart and witty and had terribly wonderful puns for days. Even Dot was smarter than him, though younger she was always the star of the show, charismatic and charming, but intelligent enough to manage to not be naïve. And he was just Wakko. Wakko, who could eat a shit ton of food. Wakko, who had the driest sense of humor around. Wakko, the dumb one who couldn't keep up with his siblings. And, even now, as he was just trying to figure out why he didn't feel like a boy, the stupidity he had translated over. He was so stupid he couldn't even come up with a name for what he was feeling.

He hated himself.

He hated himself a lot. Just for being so stupid and annoying, all he was good for was eating food and making dumb, half-funny remarks. He was nothing when compared to his siblings, nothing but a shadow, always outshined by the two with actual talent. He wasn't good enough for them or their show and he wasn't good enough now because he couldn't figure himself out. It should be so simple, but with him it never was. And he hated that about himself.

"Wakko?"  
  
  


He snapped back to reality, looking down to realize he was on the floor. He felt tears rolling down his cheeks and quickly wiped them away with a paw. "Wakko, are you okay? I heard you fall, were you messing around with your hammerspace again?" Yakko quietly called, giving a light knock on the door.

"G-get lost." Wakko said, sniffling. 

"Wakko, I'm gonna come in. Unless you can give me a good reason why I can't."

"I'm- I'm taking a bath." He said, hushed. "At three in the morning?" Yakko questioned.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Wakko, I don't hear water. And when you can't sleep, you go to the kitchen, so why are you in the bathroom instead?"

Wakko sighed, feeling a bit defeated. "I dunno."

He heard the handle turn, and Yakko popped his head into the room. "Wakko, what's going on?" The rest of him came into the room, and his brother closed the door before sitting on the floor beside him. "Nothing." Wakko responded, glancing down at his lap. He saw Yakko tilt his head out of the corner of his eye, but he still refused to look.

"Well, brother, it's obviously something. Care to talk about it?"

Wakko felt himself cringe when Yakko said brother, but shrugged his shoulders nonetheless. "I dunno."

Yakko nodded before glancing away. "You don't have to talk, but I'm here if you want to. I won't tell Dot or anyone, it can just be a bro to bro talk, y'know?"

"I don't want to be your brother." Wakko blurted out. Once he realized what he said he flinched, face reddening in shame.

"Oh," Yakko replied. He glanced over to Wakko, who still refused to directly look at him. "Do you want to be my sister, then?"

Wakko shook his head. He felt ashamed at this point. Even if Yakko seemed to be fine with him if he was a girl, Wakko was most definitely sure he wouldn't support him being neither a boy or a girl.

"Okay. Then what do you want to be?"

Wakko shrugged again, a small, sheepish chuckle escaping his lips. "I don't know, Yakko. I don't know who I am. I look in the mirror and I don't want to look like a boy, but I don't want to look like a girl. I don't want to be either things but I don't know what that makes me. I'm too stupid to figure it out and I doubt there's actually something else for me to be. But I know you won't like me anymore or want to be my brother so I'm very sorry." Wakko sniffed, turning away from his brother. He felt another tear roll down his cheek, but he just let it be this time.

"Wakko."

The middle Warner sibling didn't look back towards the oldest, instead finding a spot on the wall to stare at. "Wakko, seriously. Will you please look at me?" Yakko gently spoke, resting a paw on Wakko's shoulder. The youngest turned his head a bit so he could make slight eye contact with Yakko. Yakko gave him a look and he sighed before turning around all the way. "Wakko, why would I ever _not_ want to be your brother? There's nothing you could do that would make me not love you, okay? You're the best sibling I could've asked for, Dot as well, but that's unimportant right now." Yakko smiled, reaching out to wipe at the tears still falling from Wakko's eyes. Wakko slowly nodded, giving a small smile back.  
  


"As for your gender, or lack thereof, you don't have to be a boy _or_ a girl."

"I don't?" Wakko looked up at Yakko in wonder. The eldest shook his head. "Nope! You could be nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, or so many other things." Yakko explained.

"What's nonbinary?"

"Nonbinary is a gender identity that isn't exclusively male or female. And gender identity is like presenting as a boy or a girl. Or something else, obviously." Wakko looked away, a small smile on his face once again. He liked the sound of _nonbinary_ , liked that it meant he wasn't a boy _or_ a girl. "Another thing, dear sibling, is pronouns."

"Pronouns?"

"Yeah! Pronouns are what you use to describe someone when you aren't saying their name. For example, some pronouns are he/him, she/her, or they/them. Wow, swallowing the internet has really come in handy!" Yakko chuckled. "I wouldn't have known any of this without it. But anyway, some or most nonbinary folks prefer to use they/them pronouns. Some use she/they or he/they. There's also a thing called neo-pronouns, where you can use other things as your pronouns."

"How do you use they pronouns, Yakko?" Wakko looked back up to his brother. "Well, say I'm talking with Dot and we're talking about you. If you wanted to use they/them pronouns, Dottie and I would talk about you like this: Hey, Dot, have you seen Wakko recently?" Yakko pushed himself across the floor and spun around to face Wakko. "Why no, I haven't seen them!" He said in a mock Dot voice. He slid back over to his original spot. "Well, that's a shame! I was about to call them down for breakfast!" He moved again, "Oh, then I'll go find them!"

Wakko giggled. "Does that make sense, little sib?" Wakko nodded, a smile on his face. "It does, Yakko. Will you use they pronouns for me now? I like how it feels when you say it for me."

"Of course, Wakko. Will you tell Dot, too?"

Wakko took a second to think, and then slowly nodded. "I'll tell her in the morning." Yakko nodded too, and then smiled. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah," Wakko said, "I feel a lot better."

"I'm glad I could help you out, little sib. Let's get you to bed, right?" The eldest Warner stood, reaching down to help the middle Warner child. They both stood, and Yakko went as far as to tuck Wakko in bed. "Love you, Wakko. Zany dreams!" Yakko whispered, patting his sibling on the head before going down the bunk to his own bed.

\---

Wakko slept well the rest of the night, their brain content with the new knowledge Yakko provided them with. They woke up well rested in the morning, hopping off the bunk bed with lots of energy flowing through their body. They realized this was the best they'd slept in a few weeks, having been contemplating their gender for a while. It always kept them up, but with this new knowledge of nonbinary and they/them pronouns, Wakko was feeling the best they could be. They headed downstairs to the kitchen, finding both of their siblings at the breakfast table already. "Morning, Wakko!" Dot exclaimed, shoveling a few bites of pancake into her mouth. "G'morning, Dot!" Wakko said back, smiling at Dot as they made their way to the fridge. "Where's the rest of the pancakes?"

"Over here, Yakko's been hogging them." Dot said, shooting a mini glare at her eldest brother. Yakko shrugged before taking a sip of his coffee. Wakko grabbed the milk carton from the fridge, uncapping the container and chugging all of the milk from it. They put the lid back on and took it to the trash, tossing the carton in before letting out a loud belch. "'Scuse me." They smiled. "Gross!" Dot rolled her eyes. "You boys are always so disgusting!"

"Actually, Dottie dear, _I'm_ nonbinary." Wakko said, as smug as could be. They were nervous, sure, but with Yakko's response the night before they were feeling a lot more confident.

"Then you _two_ are always so disgusting. And call me Dottie again and you're dead." Dot gave a smile before returning to her pancakes.

"You don't care that I'm not a boy?"

"Should I? You being nonbinary doesn't affect me, so it doesn't bother me." Dot explained.

"Oh," Wakko said. They walked over to the table and sat down, snatching the pancakes from Yakko. "Hey!" Wakko laughed before eating all the pancakes left, as well as the plate. "What pronouns do you want to use, Wakko?" Dot asked, rolling her eyes at their antics. "Oh, well, Yakko's used they/them pronouns for me and I like them!" Yakko nodded.

"You told Yakko before you told me? Your loving sister, last to know?" Dot raised an arm to rest over her eyes. "The shame!"

"I didn't mean to tell Yakko, Dot. He helped me figure it out, so really he told me." Wakko smiled. Dot sighed, then finished the rest of her pancakes. Yakko finished his coffee, and Wakko sat and thought about how lucky they were to have the two best siblings in the world.


End file.
